Psalm

From ChoralWiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Table of Psalms             <<   Psalm #   >>

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20

21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30

31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40

41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50

51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60

61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70

71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80

81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90

91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100

101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110

111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120

121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130

131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140

141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150

(NOTE: Text pages are being added for every psalm, please consider helping)

General information

spiritual song, originally Hebrew poetry (150 pieces) collected in a prayerbook in the bible: the book of psalms, adopted by the church and translated in many languages. Musical adaptations in the form of Latin motets are very famous in the roman catholic tradition. In the protestant world translation in metrical verse, supplied with special melodies, became typical for the churches in the calvinist tradition. The words were supplied by Clément Marot and Théodore de Bèze and they were set to music by many French Renaissance composers, like Claude Goudimel, Louis Bourgeois, Paschal de L'Estocart and Claude Le Jeune, but also by the more secular oriented Clément Janequin. A special mentioning deserve the early Dutch metrical psalter which uses secular tunes, the Souterliedekens, which were set to music by Jacobus Clemens non Papa.


Note on the different numbering of the Psalms

There is a confusing difference in the numbering of the Psalms. This is caused by the fact that Hieronymus (translator of the bible in Latin, usually called the Vulgata (V) , folowed the numbering of the Greek translation of the Bible (Septuaginta). Every Psalm in Latin follows this numbering.
Protestants and protestant composers returned to the numbering of the Hebrew Bible (H). Almost all modern bible-editions use the Hebrew numbering.

A résumé of the differences

1. Psalms 1-8 (V) = Psalms 1-8 (H)
2. Psalm 9 (V) = Psalms 9,10 (H)
3. Psalms 10-112 (V) = Psalms 11-113 (H)
4. Psalm 113 (V) = Psalms 114,115 (H)
5. Psalms 114,115 (V) = Psalm 116 (H)
6. Psalms 116-145 (V) = Psalms 117-146 (H)
7. Psalms 146,147 (V) = Psalm 147 (H)
8. Psalms 148-150 (V) = Psalms 148-150 (H)

tip:

Except for 1-8 and 148-150 Psalms in Latin have one number less than the modern ones.
When in the range of 112-116: check the numbering twice

Examples

The famous penitential psalm Miserere mei, Domine is psalm 50 in the Vulgata, but will be found sub Psalm 51 in any modern bible.
Another penitential psalm: De profundis (psalm 129 in the Vulgata) is psalm 130 for protestants (Aus tiefer Not for Germans).
A psalm very dear to protestants like psalm 116 (f.i. very famous because almost all German composers were invited in the around 1618 to make a musical score of this psalm (Schütz, Schein, Praetorius) has its counterpart in the Latin psalms 114 and 115.

Information about Performance

It is the custom in some circles, for example among Monks and Nuns, and in the Anglican Communion, in many Cathedrals, to sing the Psalms frequently. Schemes in which the entire Psalter was sung in a day, a week, and a month were common, with the last being perhaps the most common of all. The earliest tradition of singing the Psalms developed may have originated in the Jewish Synagogue or Temple, and evolved into plainsong, in which the Psalm was sung in unison to a Psalm tone, a formula for handling texts with different numbers of syllables and accent patterns. Elaboration of the plainsong Psalm tone, by adding Organum, singing the text and melody in parallel intervals, first octaves, later fifths, (and less commonly other intervals) later developed into complete harmonizations, called Faux-bourdons; these in turn evolved into Anglican Chant.

It was the usual practice most places for the Gloria Patri (sometimes called the lesser doxology) to be appended to each Psalm, set of Psalms, sung to the same tone, generally as two "extra" verses of the Psalm.

The Psalter contained in the 1662 Book of Common Prayer (BCP) of the Church of England is very little changed from the Psalter included in the first English Book of Common Prayer in 1549, and generally matches the Latin text most closely in syllable count and accent patterns; when it is necessary to sing an English text to a setting originally intended for a Latin text, the translation from the 1662 BCP is often a good starting point.


The scheme for reading the Psalter in a month, from the 1662 Church of England Book of Common Prayer

 Day  1: 
     Morning:  Psalms 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
     Evening:  Psalms 6, 7, 8
 Day  2: 
     Morning:  Psalms 9, 10, 11
     Evening:  Psalms 12, 13, 14
 Day  3: 
     Morning:  Psalms 15, 16, 17
     Evening:  Psalms 18
 Day 4: 
     Morning:  Psalms 19, 20,21
     Evening:  Psalms 22, 23
 Day 5: 
     Morning:  Psalms 24, 25, 26
     Evening:  Psalms 27, 28, 29
 Day  : 
     Morning:  Psalms 
     Evening:  Psalms 
 Day  : 
     Morning:  Psalms 
     Evening:  Psalms 
 Day  : 
     Morning:  Psalms 
     Evening:  Psalms 
 Day  : 
     Morning:  Psalms 
     Evening:  Psalms 
 Day  : 
     Morning:  Psalms 
     Evening:  Psalms 
 Day  : 
     Morning:  Psalms 
     Evening:  Psalms 
 Day  : 
     Morning:  Psalms 
     Evening:  Psalms 
 Day  : 
     Morning:  Psalms 
     Evening:  Psalms 
 Day  : 
     Morning:  Psalms 
     Evening:  Psalms 
 Day  : 
     Morning:  Psalms 
     Evening:  Psalms 
 Day  : 
     Morning:  Psalms 
     Evening:  Psalms 
 Day  : 
     Morning:  Psalms 
     Evening:  Psalms 
 Day  : 
     Morning:  Psalms 
     Evening:  Psalms 
 Day  : 
     Morning:  Psalms 
     Evening:  Psalms 
 Day  : 
     Morning:  Psalms 
     Evening:  Psalms 
 Day  : 
     Morning:  Psalms 
     Evening:  Psalms 
 Day  : 
     Morning:  Psalms 
     Evening:  Psalms 
 Day  : 
     Morning:  Psalms 
     Evening:  Psalms 
 Day  : 
     Morning:  Psalms 
     Evening:  Psalms 
 Day  : 
     Morning:  Psalms 
     Evening:  Psalms 
 Day  : 
     Morning:  Psalms 
     Evening:  Psalms 
 Day  : 
     Morning:  Psalms 
     Evening:  Psalms 
 Day  : 
     Morning:  Psalms 
     Evening:  Psalms 
 Day  : 
     Morning:  Psalms 
     Evening:  Psalms 
 Day  : 
     Morning:  Psalms 
     Evening:  Psalms 
 Day 29:
     Morning:  Psalms 139, 140, 141
     Evening:  Psalms 142, 143
 Day 30:
     Morning:  Psalms 144, 145, 146
     Evening:  Psalms 147, 148, 149, 150
 In months with 31 days, the Psalms of day 30 are repeated.

Texts & translations

Vulgate

Latin.png Latin text

Glória Pátri, et Fílio, et Spirítui Sáncto: Sícut érat in princípio, et nunc, et sémper, et in saécula sæculórum. Amen.


Since addition of the Gloria Patri is so common not only in Psalms, but in other types of texts, the Gloria Patri is not written out in full, but the application of the chanted psalm tone to the accents is indicated by pringing the final six vowels, and appears as "E u o u A e."

Church of England 1662 Book of Common Prayer

English.png English text Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost: As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen

External links